Prism Love
by DragonSorceress22
Summary: A nightmare, a kindling, a game, a challenge, and a reunion.
1. Chapter 1

Warnings for some serious violence and bloodshed. Have something/someone in arm's reach available for hugging. You'll thank me.

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 _Black_

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Shinichi opened his eyes to a nightmare. It was all of his worst fears, and a few he'd never considered, assembled in a shadowy hallway. Gin was there. And Vodka. And a man he recognized from wanted posters as Jackal, but who he knew better as Snake. And even as Shinichi was struggling to raise himself from the floor, Kaitou KID was thrown down beside him. He started slightly at the sound of the thief's body hitting the tiles, as if he'd put up no resistance to the fall, and realized a moment later that he hadn't. KID's hat had tumbled away and Shinichi stared, horrified to the point of nausea, as blood crept slowly out onto the floor from beneath KID's messy hair.

"KI–" He cut off sharply when Vodka grabbed his arm, wrenching him up, and he scrambled to get his feet beneath him but they missed the floor, kicking in midair as Vodka held him aloft in a painful grip.

 _Wh-What–?!_ He grabbed onto Vodka's wrist to ease the strain on his shoulder and had to acknowledge how much smaller his hands were compared to the thug in black. _N-No… No! Not again! This has to be a dream. A nightmare. I can't be_ him _again._ He tried to kick at Vodka and missed by several inches, but his violent squirming was enough that the man let him go, throwing him down beside KID.

"Tch, _now_ he decides to get violent. Not a peep outta him for three days and now this."

 _Three days?! How long have I–? How did I get here? Where am I?_ He pushed himself upright again but his arms almost folded under his minimal weight and he looked with horror at the multiple puncture marks that dotted his skin beneath the sleeves of something like a hospital gown. _They've been… They've been experimenting on me,_ Shinichi thought through a growing fog as his breathing sped erratically. Clips of memories came back to him – being targeted, protecting Haibara, getting captured. They'd drawn blood from him, again and again, and then… the shrinking – the bone-melting, heart-tearing agony. Then… nothing. He couldn't remember anything after that.

Conan turned and looked back at the thief on the floor beside him. The white suit was scuffed with dirt and dust and one of the glider attachments looked like it had been shot off, the cape, crumpled beneath him, hooked at only one shoulder.

 _Why is he here?_

It wasn't a question of how. Nothing ever happened around KID without his allowing it, so if he was in a position like this… something had been worth the risk.

"He tried to steal something we still need."

Conan tore his eyes from KID and whipped around, craning his head back to look up at Gin, now standing over them both, calmly lighting the cigarette clenched between the teeth of a razor-edged smirk.

"More naive than I'd expected from KID," Snake said. He reached under his jacket and pulled out a gun and Conan immediately shifted back, covering KID as best he could with a body much too small.

"Hold it," Gin said, holding his hand out to stop Snake. "He's not going to let you shoot the thief without going through him. Like I said, we still need him."

Conan's heart lurched. _KID was… He was trying to–_

"My apologies… for being so naive," a weak voice said from behind him. He felt movement at his back and turned to see KID rolling slowly onto his side and rising unsteadily to his hands and knees.

"KID!"

"You're right… Snake," KID said, dropping back to sit on the floor. "It's not like me to rush in blind." He turned his gaze to Conan, met his eyes, smiled, just a little. "Don't know what I was thinking."

"You're done for," Snake informed him.

"Vodka, grab the detective," Gin said, already walking away as Snake once again raised his gun.

Vodka stepped forward and Conan shrank back, edging closer to KID. He was slightly startled when KID reached out and grabbed him, pulling him back and wrapping his arms around him with Conan's back pressed to his chest.

"I stole this detective fair and square," he said, a hard smile on his face and challenge in his voice. "Like hell I'm going to just let you take him again."

"KID–"

There was a bang and a strangled shout. KID's arms tightened almost painfully around Conan and the detective's eyes were immediately drawn down to the blood welling at the fresh gunshot wound in KID's leg. He could feel him shaking, hear his breath shuddering just behind his ear, but KID only held tighter.

"What did I just say?"

Conan tore his eyes from the blood pooling on the floor at his feet and looked up. Gin was standing behind Snake with the barrel of a gun pressed to the back of Snake's head at the base of his skull.

"He's the only one left that the drug affected this way. We need him alive. Your grudge can wait."

"The... only one _left_ …?" Conan murmured, an uneasy feeling sinking deep into him.

"Tantei-kun…" KID's voice was faint, but Conan could still hear the sympathy there and it only made him feel worse. "Haibara-san… She's dead."

A painful pulse shook Conan's heart, a cold feeling coiling in his stomach. "No… That's impossible." He ignored how KID's arms tightened around him again. "She was safe. They didn't find her. Theytook _me._ "

"They went back for her later… when you wouldn't wake up."

"Vodka," Gin said sharply, and Vodka moved again, bending over to grab Conan by his throat. KID gritted his teeth and grabbed Vodka's wrist, but Vodka just stomped a foot down onto KID's injured leg and KID lost his grip on them both, recoiling with a weak cry. The moment Vodka had Conan, he kicked KID to the floor and walked away, his hand still tight around Conan's neck as the boy choked and gasped and wrenched at the large hand with increasingly shaky fingers, all to no avail. Gin lowered his gun.

"Have fun," he told Snake, and he headed off down the hallway, Vodka following after him.

"Nngh… N-No…" Conan cracked open an eye to look over Vodka's shoulder as he was carried away and saw Snake walking up to KID who had not been able to pull himself up from the floor. Snake crouched beside him, speaking in a low murmur, words that Conan couldn't quite catch, and then they were out of sight, around a corner farther down the hallway.

The single gunshot echoed fiercely down the tiled halls.

 _KID. KID! No. He can't be… They can't have… This isn't right. This can't be right! No one can… can catch–_ Tears he didn't notice squeezed from his eyes. In a sudden, desperate move, Conan sank his nails into Vodka's skin with strength he didn't know he had, and used the startled reflexive spasm of Vodka's fingers to get enough leeway to tilt his chin down and bite, tearing flesh from between Vodka's thumb and forefinger.

Vodka shouted, stumbling back and dropping him, and Conan hit the ground running, a flat out sprint back down the hallway toward KID. He skidded around the corner, almost overbalancing, his bare feet sticking to the tile, but he kept forward. Ahead of him, he could see a figure in black lying on the floor, and another crouched beside KID, pressing down on the bullet wound in KID's leg with both hands.

"Wh-What?" he breathed out, jolting to a stop halfway between the strange scene before him and the point down the hall behind him where he could hear Gin cursing out Vodka. He absently spit the remnants of blood and skin from his mouth and wiped the back of his hand across his face as his mind raced, trying to make sense of Snake out cold on the floor and the woman with the half bandaged face. But he couldn't, and he didn't have time. Gin was coming.

Conan did the only thing he could think to do and ran toward the trio ahead of him. He had no idea who the bandaged woman was or how she would react to it, but he charged ahead and grabbed the gun out of Snake's slack grip. She tensed instantly but Conan ignored her, turning to face Gin and Vodka, who had followed him back around the corner. But then another man in black appeared between them, as if from nowhere, and sprayed something into each of their faces.

Vodka swayed then tipped backwards, body thudding heavily to the floor, and Gin staggered just a little toward the wall, sliding down and slumping to his knees. The newcomer walked away from them without a second glance and Conan watched warily as he approached. The man's head and neck were covered with a tight black hood, an additional covering hiding his face, leaving only his eyes exposed, but Conan immediately noted that the man was older, possibly even elderly. He stepped around Conan, not sparing him a glance, and Conan caught the scent of cigarette smoke, carried on the air as the man moved past. That was when he noticed it: Gin had let the cigarette drop into his hand – let it burn his palm to clear the fog in his mind that the man's spray had caused. With his other hand, he raised his gun.

"No!" Conan shouted. Without thinking, he raised Snake's gun and fired. Two gunshots echoed together and Gin's bullet caught the man in black in the shoulder, the force and pain knocking him to his knees beside KID with a harsh gasp. Conan's bullet lodged solidly into bone in Gin's forearm and Gin dropped the gun.

It took Conan a moment to steady himself again, the kick from the weapon more than his small body could fully brace for, but he raised it again and trained it on Gin, taking slow, measured steps toward him so he could retrieve Gin's fallen weapon.

He made it about halfway there before Gin abruptly grabbed for the gun again and another shot went off, another of Conan's bullets biting into Gin's left shoulder. But Gin didn't stop. His hand closed over the gun on the floor and he raised it at Conan who was still trying to recover his shaken grip and stance.

Three shots fired, once again in quick succession – a card whizzing past Conan's ear to cut into Gin's hand, Gin's bullet striking the floor near Conan's feet, and Conan's bullet piercing through flesh right beside KID's card. Gin finally dropped the gun again and slumped back against the wall, and Conan wasted no time in hurrying forward to push the weapon down the hallway with his foot. Then he set his stance firmly and pointed Snake's gun at the side of Gin's head.

"Don't move."

A loud clatter in the mostly silent hallway had Conan jumping a little and his eyes flickered toward the sound, determining its source in an instant. The card gun was on the floor beside KID's shaking hand. His eyes, just barely open, were locked on Conan.

"T-Tan… tei…" The unfinished name was faint and KID's eyes fell closed again, his breathing fast and irregular. Conan kept his eyes on Gin through a force of will.

"That's the detective?" the woman asked, looking to the man in black who was squeezing his bleeding shoulder, kneeling across from her at KID's side. He glanced back at Conan but didn't speak. "Take him," the woman said firmly. "I'll get KID." The man just nodded and stood, starting down the hallway toward Conan and Gin.

 _Shit…_ Conan's eyes darted anxiously between Gin and the approaching stranger. _What do I do? Who are these people? Not Organization, but… that doesn't mean they're on my side._ Still, he couldn't bring himself to take the gun off of Gin who was watching everything with sharp eyes, searching for an opportunity.

The man came to a stop beside them and something appeared in his hand. He pulled a pin from it and smoke began wafting out with a quiet hiss. He set it in front of Gin, and then he was suddenly behind him, wrenching Gin's arms behind his back before Gin could even attempt to knock the gas grenade away.

Conan took a few steps back without lowering the gun, turning his head away as much as he dared and monitoring his own breathing very closely as the gas billowed out. The man was tying Gin's arms now (though where the rope had come from, Conan had no clue), not bothering to be gentle or careful of Gin's wounds.

Once Gin was bound hand and foot and semiconscious at best from the steady stream of gas rising under his nose, the man stepped away from him and over toward Conan. Conan turned the gun on him immediately and the man raised his hands, his eyes flinching a little, giving away the pain the movement caused his injured shoulder.

"Here to help," he said. His voice was unnaturally gravelly, in what Conan recognized as an attempt to somewhat disguise it. It only made the detective more untrusting. "To help KID," the man added, eyes moving to a spot behind Conan.

Conan caught movement out of the corner of his eye and glanced back quickly, but it was only the motion of the woman standing with KID in her arms. _Strong…_ Conan thought warily. "What are you d–?" He cut off with a gasp as hands closed on him, a cloth held firm over his mouth and nose. His heart jumped with a spike of adrenaline, his eyes wide, but the gun was already tumbling from nerveless fingers and he felt his consciousness slip away.

.

Conan woke on the floor of a dark room. He blinked, his eyes slowly focusing on the pulsating reflections of red and blue light touching the ceiling and walls in one corner. They were coming in through the one, small, bare window, outside of which he could see dark, starless sky.

Conan pushed to his feet, stumbling a little, disoriented, and rushed to the window, standing on his toes and gripping the sill hard to pull himself up enough to peek outside. The room seemed to be on the third floor of _somewhere_ , and, below, a squad of police cars had gathered. The light, rotating and strobing silently, illuminated Sato Miwako shoving a bandaged Gin into a patrol car. Conan's eyes widened almost painfully as he watched, quickly scanning over the others milling about. After a few seconds he spotted Snake stumbling groggily toward another patrol car, his hands cuffed behind his back and Nakamori and Hakuba on either side, pushing him along. A moment more and he found Vodka as well, struggling hopelessly as Takagi, Shiratori, and Chiba all worked together to drag him toward the cars.

"This can't be real…" Conan breathed out, unable to look away.

"It's real."

He jumped at the sound of a voice from behind him – familiar, _painfully_ familiar, but not quite right. Of course not. Because he'd never hear that voice again.

Suppressing a shudder and ignoring the queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, Conan turned to look up at the woman standing behind him. She was barefoot, wearing only a dirty lab coat as far as he could tell, and his legs folded as his eyes finally made out the image of Miyano Shiho standing over him in the darkness.

"H-Haibara," he choked out, staring. "Y-You… I thought–"

"I was dead?" she finished for him, just exactly as spiteful as she always was. "Thank the thief. He set it up for me to fake my death." She moved beside the window and put her back to the wall, peeking out at the activity below them. "The Organization is a lot larger than just this group, but they won't look for me anymore." Her eyes moved to the far corner of the room but Conan was still just staring up at her face, hardly able to believe it. "He called the police, too," Shiho continued. "Had it all worked out." She scoffed and folded her arms, turning her eyes back to the scene below the window. "Look what it got him," she murmured, almost to herself.

"What?!" Conan shot to his feet again and jumped to get his forearms on the window sill, hauling himself up so he could see outside. _Was KID arrested? That can't– That's not… It's not right…_

"Not down there," Shiho said quietly, watching him. Conan looked up at her and she nodded to the deeper shadows in the far corner of the room. Now that he was focusing on them, Conan could just make out three outlines, two of them nearly indistinguishable, but one relatively clear – a white silhouette on the floor.

"KID!" Conan dropped from the window and rushed to the corner, stumbling over a random box in his path. KID was lying on his back, his head resting in the lap of the bandaged woman who was leaning back against the wall. The man in black was sitting at her side, still squeezing his bleeding shoulder. Conan dropped to his knees beside the thief. "KID…"

The woman's gaze flickered to Conan's face then down to KID again, but he didn't notice. KID's eyes opened, slivers of light from the window's reflection, and he looked over at Conan. "Made it out… Meitantei," he whispered, his lips turning up in a faint smile. Conan's eyes darted to the bullet wound in KID's leg. It had been tied off tightly to stem the bleeding, but KID still looked ghostly pale in the dark room.

"What are you doing?" Conan suddenly demanded, looking up at the woman. "You _are_ here to help him." It wasn't a question. Not anymore. Not with how the two in black watched KID, and how KID paid them no mind. "He needs to get to a hospital."

"It's not that simple–" the woman answered but Conan cut her off.

"What the hell is complicated about _saving his life_?"

"Calm down… Meitantei…" KID murmured. His eyes were closed again and Conan's hands clenched into fists on the floor in front of him.

"Every last one of us here has a secret identity, Kudou-kun," Shiho pointed out. Conan flinched at the use of his name in front of the two strangers and Shiho raised an eyebrow. "See?" she said flatly. She pointed to herself. "This body? It's the temporary antidote – they used it on me for the experiments. I could change back at any moment. And you," She pointed at Conan. "We can change you back again, permanently, so you can't let anyone see you right now. Not until we get this fixed. It would just complicate things."

"We _will_ get KID medical attention," the bandaged woman said, making Conan turn back to her again. "But there's a right way for us to go about it… unless you intend to turn us in anyway." Conan's eyes moved down to KID again and the woman smiled. "But I don't think you would do that. Not at this point. So we'll wait for the police to clear out, then go our separate ways."

KID made a quiet sound that Conan couldn't quite interpret, but it seemed to match up with the odd feeling the woman's statement had evoked in him as well. "…The police will search this place," Conan said, pushing that feeling away without examining it too closely. "They'll find us."

KID's smile strengthened just slightly. "Now you're thinking… like a thief… Meitantei," he breathed out. Conan's jaw clenched.

"What's wrong with you, KID?" he demanded. "Did you really loose that much blood?" His eyes flickered to the bullet wound again. It certainly didn't look _good_ and Conan had no idea how long he'd been unconscious – how long it had been since KID had been shot – but the man in black still seemed to be holding himself together rather well despite his bleeding shoulder, so it couldn't have been long.

"G-Give me a break," KID replied, his voice a little stronger now through a force of will. "Those guys… can get pretty rough."

Conan was only half listening, his eyes moving critically over KID's body, assessing the situation as best he could in the darkness, and he noticed for the first time that KID's arm wasn't just resting over his torso. It was clutching. He reached out, relying on touch more than sight to determine if the shot he'd heard in the hallway just before he'd escaped from Vodka's hold had found its mark after all, but there was no blood. Still, he could feel KID tense, hear him draw in a quick and quiet breath, when his careful exploration crossed any badly injured spot.

 _Cracked ribs, at least,_ Conan thought, pulling his hands carefully back. _Maybe even broken. Could be other internal injuries too. I can't tell._ "…Why the hell did you come here, KID?" he asked. He met KID's eyes when they opened again. "Why did you do this for us?"

"How… could I not?" Conan's eyebrows twitched down in a very clear _that didn't answer anything_ sort of face, and KID closed his eyes again with a weak laugh and a wince. "It was worth it," he sighed.

Conan swallowed hard, feeling sick. "You're gonna be okay, KID," he said, the words thick.

There was another faint laugh. Another wince. "Of course I am. And you better… get back to normal again quick… Meitantei. I expect you… to be at your best… for another showdown… once I'm back on my feet… right?"

Conan breathed out an indignant laugh. "Of course," he said. "Stupid thief."

"That's _phantom thief_ … Tantei-kun…" KID replied with a faint smirk.

"Get a room," Shiho muttered and Conan glared back at her, trying not to acknowledge that he'd forgotten about the others in the room. When he turned back again he noticed the bandaged woman watching him critically. The man beside her just seemed to be politely ignoring him.

"Crowd's thinning," Shiho said. "They're probably carting off everyone they've arrested so far. But they'll leave at least some behind to sweep the place. What's the next move?"

The man in black glanced at the bandaged woman but she shook her head a little. "You're hurt; don't push it," she told him. "I'll take care of it. You keep watch here.

"You good, KID?" she said, gripping his shoulder briefly.

"Yeah," KID answered. "I'll be okay… for a little longer."

She didn't respond, but there was the slightest hesitation before she carefully moved him from her lap and Conan, eyes more adjusted to the darkness now, noticed the blood on her pants where KID's head had been resting. Fear pierced through him but he just watched quietly as the man in black produced the remains of KID's cape from somewhere and bundled it carefully under KID's head. The woman stood and looked down at Conan.

"Keep calm," she told him, eyes sharp and locked on his. " _Stay here_. Follow any instructions he gives you." She jerked a thumb over her shoulder at the man in black. "And we'll survive this, secrets and all. I'll be back soon." A moment later she was gone, slipping silently out of the room through the door across from the window. Conan stared after her for a few seconds then looked again to KID.

"Who the hell _was_ that?" he asked.

KID's chest moved a little with a silent laugh. "Phantom Lady," he said. "My… predecessor."

.

Conan kept close to KID, fingers firm around one of his wrists, monitoring his pulse as they waited silently in the small, dark room. It wasn't long before they heard voices approaching from outside the door. Conan tensed, wishing he had his gadgets, and he looked around for some kind of cover or hiding place. There were various boxes, mostly around the walls, but the room on a whole was so small that trying to hide four people in it would be fairly pointless, especially with the condition KID was in.

The man in black waved at him to get his attention and made a quelling sort of motion that Conan took to mean _Stay put._ Then he put a finger to his lips. Conan hesitated but nodded his agreement. It wasn't like there was anything more they could do anyway. He'd just have to trust that these accomplices of KID's knew what they were doing.

Then the door opened and Conan froze, his heart pounding harshly as a police officer stepped inside.

 _Not good…!_ Conan thought, staring up at the man with wide eyes. The officer glanced around the room, surely spotting Shiho crouched by the window, and the man in black, Conan, and KID all on the floor just behind the open door, but after an extra, lingering moment of looking at KID, the officer just turned and stepped back into the hallway, closing the door behind him.

"This one's empty too," they heard him call, and then the footsteps and voices began to fade.

Conan turned his head slowly toward the man in black. "Was that…?"

The man nodded.

"So that's where he learned it, huh?" Conan muttered, looking down at KID. He could tell he was still awake, but just breathing seemed to be taking a lot of his energy and he didn't try to speak again.

"…He learned it from the first KID," the man in black said, his voice a careful undertone but no longer gravely or disguised. "What he hadn't had to teach himself, anyway. The first KID learned from her."

"But not you," Conan concluded.

"…No. Not me."

It took Conan a second to realize what he was doing. "Sorry," he said. "Habit. I shouldn't be… making deductions or asking questions now. You guys are off-limits."

"Off-limits?"

"They have an _arrangement_ ," Shiho whispered with a smirk. "They trade favors, and don't bother each other outside of heists. Guess it'll be a long time before you see him again, huh," she added casually, and Conan turned away from her, looking particularly irritated.

.

Phantom Lady returned less than ten minutes later, but it felt like an eternity to Conan as he watched KID struggle for both breath and consciousness.

"It's all clear," Phantom Lady told them as she carefully shut the door behind her and took a seat on the floor at KID's side. "No cops, no Organization. We're the only ones here." She held out a cell phone to Conan and he blinked up at her, confused. "Do you have someone who can come get you?" she asked.

Conan returned his eyes to KID again. "You should–" he started, but Phantom Lady cut him off.

"We can't get him help until you're gone. Secret identity, remember?" She was still holding out the phone but Conan hesitated.

"Tch." Shiho suddenly got up, striding over to them and snatching the phone from Phantom Lady's hand. "I'm calling Agasa-hakase," she said, and she turned on her heel and moved to a corner of the room as she dialed.

"I-I think… she's probably right… Tantei-kun…" KID breathed out as Shiho spoke in a low murmur into the phone.

"What?" Conan asked reflexively, and he hated himself a little for it. KID shouldn't be talking. But at the same time, if KID had something to say now, he wanted to hear it.

"No… Nn… N-No heists f-for a while…"

"Shut up," Conan said immediately. "Just shut up if you're gonna tell me something I already know, idiot."

KID's hand turned, fingers closing around Conan's wrist just as Conan's were still on his. "I do… what I want…" he managed with the shadow of a grin. "Wait for me… okay?"

"KID…"

Shiho ended the call and stalked back over to the group. "We cannot get out of here fast enough," she muttered bitterly. She held the phone out to Phantom Lady, but before she could take it a harsh pulse hit Shiho's body, the force enough to double her over, and the phone slipped from her hand. Phantom Lady caught it without even looking, watching Shiho with wide, alarmed eyes.

"Haibara!" Conan was on his feet in a second, but he couldn't do anything to support her, as small as he was. Shiho staggered a little but pulled herself together again and straightened up some.

"I'm fine," she said, though she had a tense grip on the front of the dirty lab coat. "I should have a little time yet. Let's just get out of here."

Conan nodded and turned to Phantom Lady. "I'm counting on you," he told her without really thinking about it. "KID…"

KID's eyes opened, just a little.

"I'll be waiting."

His eyes closed again, but he was smiling, and Conan allowed Shiho to shove him forward toward the door and out of the room to go downstairs and wait for Agasa.

"H-He's… a handful… isn't he…" KID said.

Phantom Lady was still staring after them, but she shook her head a little with a wry smile. "He's exactly how I remember him," she said. She glanced over at KID. "Except for one thing."

"Wh... What's that?" KID huffed out.

"If you don't know, I'm certainly not going to tell you."

KID tried to let out an aggravated sigh, but it turned to a groan as Phantom Lady knelt and carefully slid her arms under him to lift him off the floor.

"I know," she murmured, soothing. "But the police searched this whole place. We have to get you off the premises before we can call for an ambulance. Hang on just a little longer, Kaito. Can you do that for me?"

"…Jii-chan… H-How's your shoulder?" KID said and Phantom Lady breathed out a quiet laugh.

"Changing the subject, huh?" she murmured. "Stubborn brat. You're fine."

The man in black pulled himself to his feet with the aid of the wall and went to the door. "I'll live, Bocchama," he said. "All the same, I'd like to get out of here as soon as possible." He swept an arm out, ushering Phantom Lady ahead of him and she carried KID out into the hallway.

"Hey… Kaa-san…" KID said as they made it to the first floor and out into the calm night. "Thanks…"

Phantom Lady smiled. "I've owed Kaitou KID a rescue for a long time now," she said softly. "Consider us even." There was some laughter in her voice and KID smiled as well.

 _Thanks… Oyaji._

.

 **Author Note:**

Think I surprised myself a little with how mean I can really be to my favorite characters… *not really sorry*

Next installment is called "Blue" and shall be oh so very fluffy. You're welcome.


	2. Chapter 2

_Blue_

.

"Look, Kudou, not that I don't like havin' ya around, but if ya keep comin' here Osaka's death rate is gonna end up lookin' real bad. Seriously, this is the fifth time this month!"

"I know, I know," Shinichi murmured, hands in his pockets as he leaned over the frozen corpse one last time, spotting the broken zipper he was looking for on the victim's jacket pocket. "The fisherman, right?" he said to Hattori.

"That's what I was thinkin', yeah."

.

Double-teamed by the Great Detectives of the East and West, the fisherman had indeed launched into a fervent sob story after the somewhat showy explanation of the murder, and had been carted off by the police.

After they'd given their official statements, Shinichi and Hattori went right back to what they'd been doing. Or they'd tried to. Apparently it was a bit much to expect that the restaurant they'd been eating at would stay open for the night after a body had been found in their freezer. Still, they found another place and sat waiting for their food, slipping right back into their conversation as if they hadn't been interrupted by murder. Again.

"So Neechan really dumped ya, huh? I can't believe it. She was always talkin' 'bout ya an' thinkin' 'bout ya, an' worryin' over ya. An' now… what happened?"

"Haibara says she 'built it up too much in her mind,' and when I came back it was a letdown," Shinichi muttered, slumping a little with his cheek scrunched against the heel of his hand and a sour expression on his face.

Hattori cringed. "Harsh."

"I think she's right though," Shinichi sighed. "I did the same thing sort of. Thought I would come back and everything would be great, but she was still getting mad at me all the time…" He shook his head. "Then one day she goes into this teary confession about how I came back but nothing was different and how I'm still putting mysteries first and that we were 'officially over.'"

"Well, if ya ask me, it sounds like what ya need is somebody ya'd drop everythin' for the way ya do when a case comes around."

"…What do you mean?" Shinichi said, eyebrows creasing together.

"Ya know – like how ya get all excited an' start smilin'. If ya weren't feelin' that with Neechan, ya just need ta find somebody ya _do_ feel it with."

"I don't know, Hattori. I don't think it's quite the same thing."

Hattori just shrugged. "Well, if ya don't figure it out soon, just come ta me. I'll help ya find somebody good."

Shinichi scoffed. "'Cause you're such an expert at this stuff," he said flatly.

.

Shinichi was walking home from the train station that night when he passed a shop with a TV in the window. The news was on and he stopped short, staring. The headline running along the bottom of the screen read, "Kaitou KID's latest notice – first heist in months!"

Instantly and without even realizing it, Shinichi straightened up, a grin splashed across his face and his heart racing just a little, and it struck him just as abruptly that this was _exactly_ what Hattori had been talking about. How had he seriously been so blind as to not see it sooner?

Shinichi blinked and refocused on the screen. They were displaying the notice now and he pulled out his phone to take a picture of it, puzzling over it the entire way home, and through the night, and into the next day, and when he solved it he didn't bother to tell the police. If he played this right, he'd have a chance to talk to KID alone.

Right now, that was all he really wanted.

.

"Ah, there you are, Tantei-kun," KID said casually, pulling himself up over the edge of the roof and vanishing the card gun and grappling hook attachment almost before Shinichi had glimpsed them. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."

"Heh. All things considered, I'd say a few months really wasn't bad."

KID's grin softened somewhat. "And you're you again."

Shinichi just tucked his hands into his pockets and shrugged.

"So…" KID said, sauntering toward him, his eyes on the large sapphire he was suddenly holding, turning it musingly in his gloved fingers. "Is the game on again? I'm back. You're back. Same old chase?" He stopped right in front of the detective and raised the jewel up, letting it flash with moonlight.

"Actually KID, I was wondering if you'd want to hang out sometime."

KID almost dropped the gem onto his face. "Huh?"

"I'm asking if you'd like to hang out. With me. Not at a heist."

KID stared for a moment. Then a grin broke across his face. "How's tonight?"

.

As promised, Shinichi found the doors of the Ekoda station clock tower unlocked and made his way to the room behind the clock face where he'd agreed to meet KID. It was surprisingly well-lit, for safety purposes he supposed, and he sat down with his back against a wall, staring up at the massive cogs of the clock.

It wasn't long before the door to the room opened and KID stepped into the doorway, his posture bizarrely timid as he fiddled with the silk hat in his hands. "I wasn't sure if… if you were expecting _KID_ or–"

"You don't have to rush it," Shinichi said easily, gesturing for KID to sit beside him. KID smiled and closed the door, coming to Shinichi's side and settling in on the floor next to him.

"So," KID said, tipping his head back to look up at the clockwork. "I'm curious. What brought this on, Tantei-kun? We've been dancing around each other for years. Why _now_?"

Shinichi scoffed. "It was something Hattori said."

"That detective from Osaka?"

"Yeah, but… It's not just that. I missed you."

KID leaned over to get a look at Shinichi's face, but he had turned away. Still, KID could see the faint pink coloring his skin.

 _He… He missed me, huh?_

"Hey… KID…" Shinichi murmured.

"Yeah?"

"I still don't understand… How did you even know we were in trouble that night?"

He didn't need to clarify. The last time they'd seen each other, KID had put his life on the line to pull Shinichi and Haibara from the clutches of the Black Organization, and had managed it, too. Gin, Vodka, and Snake had all been arrested, but KID had been badly hurt, and for the sake of his secret identity Shinichi had been sent away by KID's accomplices without knowing if he'd be okay.

"You disappeared," KID answered, his voice low. "And… I don't know; something wasn't right. I was looking into it when… they came for Haibara."

Shinichi just nodded. It was clear KID didn't want to talk about it – after all, Shinichi knew what bad memories were like. He knew about nightmares.

"Hey, KID," he said again, turning to him. "Do you have any dreams?"

KID laughed out loud and grinned over at him, suddenly much brighter – pouncing on the subject change with all the vigor of a kitten with a string. "Of course I do, Tantei-kun!" he said. "Doesn't everybody?"

Something warm spread through Shinichi's chest at the light in KID's eyes and he smiled. "Like what?" he asked.

"Like _everything_!" KID stood abruptly and spread his arms, looking up at the steadily shifting tangle of metal above them. "I wanna become a famous magician, and travel the world, and find love, and find Pandora, and–"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down," Shinichi laughed. KID turned back and leaned over him with his hands on his knees, grinning.

"What about you, Tantei-kun?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. What do detectives dream about?"

"Becoming a greater detective, obviously," Shinichi answered, smirking at the skeptical twist to KID's lips.

"But… aren't you already a great detective?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not yet," Shinichi said, and KID straightened up, blinking at him with childlike confusion. "I can always improve. My real dream…" His eyes shifted away for a moment, but he brought them back up to KID with some determination. "I always talk about wanting to be like Holmes, but… I want to _surpass_ him. I'll find my _own_ way to being the best."

KID stared for a few seconds more. Then his eyes closed and his hands moved to his hips, a small, warm smile on his face. "You know, I think I had you all wrong," he murmured. Then he held his hand out to Shinichi and Shinichi took it, standing with him. Neither let go. "I was wrong," KID said again, stronger this time. "You really do know how to dream."

.

They talked through the night and well into the morning, just wandering the clock tower until the employees started to arrive to get the station ready to open. "Let's do this again soon," Shinichi said as they were finally saying goodbye, standing on an outside ledge beneath the clock.

"Maybe with food next time~" KID agreed. Then he took a chance and leaned over, gloved fingertips light under Shinichi's chin as he touched a soft kiss to his cheek. The satisfied smirk on his face as he set his hat atop his head said he was extremely pleased with the blush he'd caused. "'Til next time, Tantei-kun," he said, and he dropped from the ledge, his glider carrying him out into the faint and distant sunrise.

.

The next few times they met in that way weren't really planned. They'd wound up on rooftops or in forests or, once, on a plastic outcropping of a mountain in Tropical Land, and they would sit and talk, just enjoying each other's company. Neither tried to force it to be more than it was. Even the night that KID showed up still in uniform but with both hat and monocle perfectly absent, neither commented. It was an unspoken comfort that they had developed with each other. Still, it was months before anything really changed.

The night was quiet, high above the city noise. Shinichi was lying on an outer ring of the Bell Tree Tower with his head resting on KID's thigh, just watching the stars, when he thought to ask the question.

"Hey, KID."

"Yeah?"

"Are we dating?"

"That depends," KID replied.

"On what?" Shinichi asked, unconcerned.

"Are you hungry?" KID answered and Shinichi laughed.

"Yeah," he said, sitting up and glancing over at him. "Do you have some place in mind?"

"As a matter of fact, I do."

KID slipped Shinichi's phone from his pocket and typed in an address, somehow unhindered by his gloves. "I'll meet you here," he said, handing it back. "Say, an hour or so?"

Shinichi stared down at the address. It was in Ekoda, but not an area he was familiar with. "Sure," he said anyway, and KID smiled as he leaned over to touch his customary kiss to Shinichi's cheek before diving from the tower.

.

Shinichi's heart was racing frantically when the taxi pulled up in front of a large house in a quiet neighborhood. He triple-checked that the address was correct before getting out and standing before the front gate. For a long time, he didn't move.

The nameplate said "Kuroba." The one next door (he couldn't help noticing) said "Nakamori." KID… had sent him _here_.

Shinichi reached out and opened the gate, stepping through and easing it shut behind him as quietly as possible. Part of his brain was still assuming some kind of mistake had been made – that he was unintentionally trespassing in Inspector Nakamori's next door neighbor's yard. Trying to shake the thought, he walked up to the house and rang the bell.

KID opened the door.

It was undoubtedly him. They weren't strangers. They knew each other… extremely well by now, and a white suit alone can only disguise a person so much. This young man, in dark slacks and a black button-down with the top buttons undone, was the person he'd been with just an hour ago. And this was his home. …And his name was Kuroba.

"Is there a given name to go with that?" Shinichi asked, and anyone else would have found it nonsensical, but KID just smiled and held his hand out to Shinichi. Shinichi took it.

"It's Kaito," he said, and he drew Shinichi inside where a few candles shed warm light over a collection of take-out containers and a single red rose on a kitchen table. Shinichi grinned.

"I'm not much of a cook," KID – _Kaito_ – explained with a smile.

"It looks great," Shinichi said, but he turned away from the table and grabbed on to Kaito instead, meeting his eyes. "Kaito," he breathed, and they were close enough that he could feel Kaito's pulse quicken even before their lips had met.

.

 **Author Note**

Next installment is called "White." Please look forward to it~!


	3. Chapter 3

_White_

.

"It's no good; there's no way out of here."

"It's all right. Those guys are headed into a trap. I was able to get a message to Megure-keibu before they caught us, but it means the police won't realize we're missing for a while. It'll probably take them some time to find us, too."

The basement room had no windows, and the air vents were maybe large enough for a cat, but certainly not large enough for a detective or a phantom thief. The door was metal with a lock that, according to Kaito, would need more specialized tools than what he had on him, given that they hadn't been at a heist. They hadn't even been on a case. They'd been walking home from a movie. It was just Shinichi's luck that they'd stumbled upon a human trafficking ring. Now they were locked up with no phones and no way out, and absolutely no way to pass the time. The room was utterly empty.

"So, I guess… all we can do at this point is wait," Kaito sighed, sitting down in the middle of the floor. Shinichi cast a sympathetic glance his way and sat down behind him, leaning his back against Kaito's.

"Sorry. Not an ideal end to a date, I guess," he said.

Kaito was quiet for a long few seconds. "…I don't know," he finally said. "Maybe we can salvage it. Let's play a game."

"A game?" Shinichi repeated. "Like what? There's nothing here."

"There's plenty of games that you don't need extra stuff to play!" Kaito said, shifting onto his hands and knees and turning to peek over Shinichi's shoulder with an impish grin. "How 'bout Truth or Dare~?"

"How does _that_ work?" Shinichi asked, glancing over at him.

"What do you mean?"

"What are the rules?"

" _Rules_?" Kaito said, incredulous. "There's no _rules_."

"Then what's the goal–?"

"To have _fun_ , Shinichi. That's the point of most games. Come on, let's play."

"I still don't know _how_ ," Shinichi insisted and Kaito rolled his eyes.

"Honestly, how is that even possible. Okay, so, when it's my turn, you ask me 'truth or dare' and I pick one. If I pick truth, you ask me a question and I have to answer. If I pick dare, you tell me to do something and I have to do it. Then I get to ask you. Got it?"

"So it's just two people making fools out of themselves," Shinichi said flatly.

"Of course not!" Kaito replied. "You can play with as many people as you want! Now, go on. Ask me."

Shinichi let out a longsuffering sigh, but he shifted around to face Kaito and Kaito sat again, folding his legs in front of him to mirror Shinichi, their knees touching. "Truth or dare," Shinichi said, resigned.

"I guess I'll pick truth, just to start us off."

"Okay… Um… Why did you try to jump those guys back there all of a sudden? Did something happen that I missed?"

"…Okay, you're doing it wrong."

"What? But–"

"That is _not_ a fun question," Kaito said and Shinichi sat back a little, eyeing him carefully. His face had gone a little pink, but if his serious expression was any indication it wasn't out of embarrassment.

"Okay, then forget the game for a second and just answer me cause you've kind of got me worried now."

Kaito looked away, his scowl deepening, and he leaned back with his hands out on the floor behind him. "They said…" he mumbled. "They called you…" He trailed off again and Shinichi's eyebrows creased together, trying to guess at Kaito's thoughts. Petty insults shouldn't have made him react the way that he had.

"What, Kaito?" he pressed, resting a hand on Kaito's knee.

"They recognized you," he tried again. "Said you were 'high value goods.'"

Shinichi blinked at him. Then he started laughing.

"It's not _funny_ , Shinichi!" Kaito snapped.

"Sorry," Shinichi answered, quieting somewhat. "I guess I just didn't expect you to get so defensive just because a bunch of idiots made a comment like that about me."

"Well excuse me for not liking the idea of somebody treating you like property. These people wanted to _sell_ you. You get that, right?"

He was still visibly upset and Shinichi shifted to his hands and knees and moved to sit beside Kaito, slipping an arm around his waist and pulling him close against his side. "Yeah. I get it. Hey, isn't it your turn to ask now? Why don't you show me how it's done."

Kaito let out a breath, taking a moment to calm himself. Then he smirked over at him. "Okay," he said. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Has there ever been a case you couldn't solve?"

"Well, yeah," Shinichi scoffed. "As a kid I made plenty of wrong deductions."

"Then let's just say since high school."

"Hm…" He was quiet for a while, thinking it over as he leaned against Kaito. "Well…" he finally said. "I still make wrong deductions sometimes along the way, but as far as I know I think every case has been closed in the end. What about you? Got some failed heists I should know about?"

"Oh no," Kaito said, closing his eyes and turning his nose up. "I'm not picking truth again. I want a dare."

"What the hell could I possibly dare you to do?" Shinichi said. "We're trapped in this room–"

"Oh, use your imagination, Tantei-kun. There's all sorts of things!"

"You know I can just look up the police reports on all your past heists anyway, right?" Shinichi muttered. "If you're just trying to avoid–"

"I'm not! That's just boring. You're not very good at this game."

"Sorry!" Shinichi huffed. "Maybe you should give me an example then, if it's so obvious."

"I can't pick my own dare; that's not how it works."

"I thought you said there were no rules!" Shinichi returned immediately. "And anyway, there's nothing I could suggest that you wouldn't just do on a whim anyway." That earned him a smirk and he rolled his eyes. "There's nothing here, Kaito. There's literally nothing to _do_. Isn't that how we wound up playing this 'game' in the first place?"

"Well…" Kaito drawled, eyeing him with some degree of intent. "There's you~"

Shinichi's head turned away from Kaito so fast the breeze ruffled his hair. All the same, Kaito could see the pink creeping up Shinichi's neck.

"Hm~? Really? Hadn't thought of that, huh?" Kaito said.

"Just what the hell do you expect me to dare you to do?"

"Anything you want," Kaito said, leaning heavily against him to murmur the words directly into Shinichi's ear. "That's the idea, anyway, right?"

Shinichi shifted a little under Kaito's weight, still looking away. "What, so if I said 'I dare you to kiss me' or some-mmph!" He toppled over when Kaito, in an attempt to reach his lips, surged forward, laying him out on his back and leaning over him to steal a quick kiss.

"I'd have to do it~" Kaito agreed, smirking down at him.

"I get it already," Shinichi complained, pushing him back so he could sit up. "I'll be more careful with what I say as long as we're playing."

"My turn!" Kaito declared, showing no indication he'd been listening. "Truth or dare, Shinichi~?"

"…Truth," Shinichi said.

"Again?" Kaito pouted. He sat down heavily and shifted to put his back to Shinichi's again. "Fine. Have you… Have you ever had sex with anyone?" he asked.

Shinichi made a small sound of surprise and glanced back over his shoulder. He could just see one of Kaito's ears poking out from his messy hair, and it was bright red. Letting out a sigh and rolling his eyes, he settled himself against Kaito's back again.

"Honestly. When would that have happened?" he said.

"I don't know," Kaito replied, and there was definitely a hint of a pout under his voice. "In a moment of passion the night you finally 'returned'?"

The noise Shinichi made at that was part scoff and part laugh. "I had other things on my mind. And Ran was mostly still pissed. Try again."

"So… that's a 'no' then?"

"That's a no," Shinichi confirmed. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth," Kaito said timidly in what Shinichi interpreted as a sort of apology.

"What about you?" Shinichi asked, accepting the obvious offering. "Did any of that flirting you always do ever actually turn into anything?"

He felt Kaito's head move, a slow turn from side to side. "No. I never let anyone get that close."

Shinichi was quiet for a moment. Then his hand moved to find Kaito's, resting on top of it. Kaito breathed out a quiet laugh. "Your turn, Shinichi," he said.

"Truth," Shinichi answered.

Kaito's sigh this time was much louder and much more melodramatic. "Really? Even after that?"

"Truth," Shinichi said again, more firmly.

There was a frustrated sort of groan, and the back of Kaito's head bumped gently against Shinichi's as he slumped against him in defeat. "Look, Shinichi," he said in what was approaching a no-nonsense sort of tone. Somehow, coming from Kaito, it didn't quite make it. "Do you know _why_ people play Truth or Dare?"

"People actually play this game?" Shinichi muttered with a bite of sarcasm. Kaito couldn't help but smirk, shoving back against him a little with his shoulder.

"They play it," he insisted, "To give them an excuse to do things that they want to do, but that they feel wouldn't be received well if they just did them on their own. If I'd just asked you about your sexual experience out of the blue, you would have felt embarrassed and pressured, right? You'd have been reading into it."

"I… guess…?" Shinichi said, responding to Kaito's confidence more than to the question. He wasn't sure at all if he actually agreed, even if _Kaito_ was.

"But as part of the game," Kaito went on. "It's just another question, so it's not a big deal. And if you'd wanted me to… _do_ something… but you thought it'd be a bit much to ask, putting it as a dare is a way to let me know that it's something you'd… allow… but I could still turn it down if I wanted to and it would all just be part of the game. It helps us learn about each other without fear getting in the way. 'Cause you can take a chance and if it's too much you can blame it on the game getting competitive or whatever."

Shinichi let out another sigh. "Kaito, that may be why junior high kids play this game, but we're both adults. Don't you think we can just… _talk_ about what we want?"

Kaito felt him move and glanced back, caught slightly off guard when Shinichi was right there, meeting his eyes somewhat expectantly. Kaito felt his face starting to warm.

"…I was just trying to make it easier on _you_ , that's all," he said, averting his eyes.

"Kaito."

He looked up again.

"What do you want?"

A few silent seconds passed, but then Kaito smiled. "What, you want me to say it?" he asked. "Afraid your deduction might be wrong?" Shinichi opened his mouth to respond but Kaito held up his hand to stop him. "It's all right," he said. "I'm the one who made a mess of this. I don't mind saying it." He reached out and caught Shinichi's hand, rising to his feet and pulling Shinichi up with him. He moved in close, meeting his eyes and holding tight to his hand, and said in a warm, low tone, "Kudou Shinichi… I am _extremely_ interested in having sex with you. I would very much like to know _your_ thoughts on the matter. …So?"

Shinichi didn't manage to keep his heart from speeding in the face of those words, that voice, that earnest face, but he did managed to keep his composure, taking in a slow, deep breath to combat the blush that wanted to appear. "I wish you would have said something when we _weren't_ being held captive by a pack of criminals," he answered, perfectly calm.

Kaito blinked at him, the suave veneer dropping away. "Damn," he muttered. "I really _should_ have just asked you sooner."

"Somehow I doubt you've learned your lesson, you ridiculous thief."

Kaito took a step back and bent forward in a shallow bow, raising Shinichi's hand to his lips and placing a soft kiss on the backs of his fingers. "Well," Kaito murmured against his skin. "As long as we're being honest about things…" He raised just his eyes, looking up at Shinichi through his lashes. "I would absolutely give you a blow job. Right here and now."

"K-Kaito!" Shinichi choked, his face going red with impressive speed as he pulled his hand out of Kaito's grasp and stepped back.

"Hey, you wanted me to be honest and straightforward, right?" Kaito said with a grin, straightening up.

"What have I done…?"

"That doesn't sound like a no~"

"No," Shinichi said quickly. "Kaito, are you insane? Let's be practical here. The police have got to be looking for us. Can we please just… save all this for later?"

Kaito's eyes suddenly lit up. "That's a _yes_!" he breathed out, beaming, and Shinichi turned away a little, his face alarmingly hot.

" _Later_ ," he corrected with firm emphasis.

"Sure, sure," Kaito laughed. "I'll look forward to it~"

Shinichi groaned a little, bidding his dignity a fond farewell. It apparently couldn't hold up to Kaito's completely ridiculous methods of seduction. But, considering how _excited_ he felt, he didn't think he'd care much for long.

Kaito reached out and put a hand on Shinichi's shoulder, gently coaxing him back around to face him again. "Hey," he whispered, moving close with half-lidded eyes and a slow smile. "Dare me to kiss you again."

"You are such a child," Shinichi breathed out against his lips. "…I dare you not to."

Kaito's eyes narrowed. "Well played, Tantei-kun," he said. Then he eased forward and met Shinichi's lips with his own.

"Hey, Kaito," Shinichi murmured, keeping him in place with his arms wrapped around his waist. "You turned down the dare. So tell the truth. Do you actually have a way out of this room?"

Kaito pulled back a little and looked at him with an all too familiar gleam in his eyes. "I'm shocked, Tantei-kun," he said. "Are you implying that I led you to believe we were trapped here just to get you to play a childish game for the sole purpose of covertly learning more about your views on a sexual relationship with me?"

"Seriously…" Shinichi muttered. "You have a way out of here! Unbelievable."

"Of _course_ I have a way out of here," Kaito said patiently as a set of lock picks appeared in his hand. "So, your place or mine~?"

Shinichi rolled his eyes with a smile. "Whichever's closer."

.

 **Author Note**

This here is proof that I can't even follow prompts I make up for myself. (I had set out intending for Kaito to only ever pick dare. He apparently had other plans.) :P

Next installment is called "Green" and it's the longest of the five. Please look forward to it~!


	4. Chapter 4

Warnings for this installment include attempted use of date-rape/similar drugs, unwanted physical contact (non-sexual), and bloodshed.

.

 _Green_

.

The setting was more extravagant than Shinichi had seen in a while. He didn't always get to attend Kaito's shows – work was not as scarce as a homicide detective might hope – but Kaito always saved a spot for him regardless. This time it was in the form of a reserved table in the back corner of the hotel ballroom, and Shinichi was happy to sit there, out of the way, and watch from a distance.

The partygoers weren't on board with his plan though. Kaito had told him before that ever since the second time Shinichi had attended, a good portion of what Kaito alarmingly called Shinichi's "fan club" showed up regularly as well. It was understandable, in Kaito's opinion. His shows were the only predictable place Shinichi would be without all the police and dead bodies around. So really, Shinichi wasn't all that surprised that some of his… fans (for lack of a better word) happened to be there that night at the private birthday party of a young heiress. Throughout the night they would come up to his table, making attempts at small talk or the occasional pass at him. He usually made an effort to be polite, but it was always clear that he wasn't interested, and people usually gave up quickly. After all, everyone knew he was taken. By Kuroba Kaito. Everyone knew it, but everyone was just as familiar with how Kuroba Kaito behaved with his audience.

It had just reached the point in the show where Kaito would come down from the stage to select a volunteer when a young woman sat down at Shinichi's table. His eyes flicked over her in the poor lighting.

 _Recent college graduate,_ he thought. _Early twenties. Patient, but bored at the moment. Single, but she's here with a guy who knows the guest of honor. She probably doesn't know anyone else here and was looking for somewhere to sit without having to awkwardly join a group._

Comfortable with his deductions, Shinichi returned his eyes to the show. He could just make out Kaito kneeling before the front-most center table where the heiress and her closest friends were sitting. As he watched, Kaito took her hand and placed a kiss on it, glancing up with a debonair smile. The girl flushed pink and shook her head emphatically to something Kaito had asked.

"Don't you get jealous?" the woman at Shinichi's table suddenly asked.

Shinichi indulged in a silent sigh. _I think I was too hopeful. That last deduction was off the mark._ "Why should I?" he answered mildly.

The woman turned in her chair to face him, leaning an elbow on the table, and Shinichi's eyes flickered over her again. _No makeup. Large purse. Sensible shoes,_ his brain supplied. _But her hair is curled. She wanted to look good but… was also avoiding something?_ His eyebrows pulled down a little. _Her nails aren't very long, but they're recently manicured. Earlier today. And she's anxious about something._ One hand was curled casually against her cheek, but the other was resting over the dark blue bag in her lap. She was keeping it close.

"I should think that would be obvious," she answered him. Shinichi just shrugged, turning his eyes forward again. Kaito was wandering through the tables now, his eyes glittering with mischief as he sought out a volunteer.

"Kuroba-san!" someone called out. "Do that thing with the tablecloth!"

"Tablecloth?" Kaito replied, looking toward the voice. His eyes still focused on the distant partygoer, he reached toward a table off to the side and slightly behind him and, in a single move too quick to see, pulled the white cloth out from under the glasses and plates and purses and centerpiece. He held it up. "You mean this tablecloth? What am I supposed to do with it?"

There were some scattered laughs and some applause and Kaito started folding the cloth in halves. "Really, there's not a whole lot you can do with a tablecloth," he said, his tone one of mock admonishment. The large white square was growing smaller and smaller in his hands, halved and halved and halved again until it fit impossibly between his palms. "These things ought to be left to their own devices." His hands came apart again to emphasize a shrug and the cloth was completely gone. "So now, let's see…"

He turned to the nearest man, one seated at the now clothless table, and knelt by his chair, taking his hand and touching a kiss to it before looking up at the man's watch. "Three," he murmured as the man laughed and made a joke to his friend. "Two." He winked up at him. "One!"

A snap like a firecracker went off and suddenly the corners of a tablecloth were fluttering down over the edges of the table, the white linen set perfectly back in place beneath all its accoutrements. This time there were gasps and some cheers from the audience, and a strong round of applause as Kaito stood and gave a small bow.

"Now then," he said. "Where was I…?"

"You know," the woman beside Shinichi said to him under the calls of hopeful volunteers. "The rumors are pretty devastating." She shifted to face forward again in her chair and pulled it up closer to the table, and a little closer to Shinichi as well. Then she reached out and pulled his iced coffee over and ran her finger around the rim of the glass. Shinichi rolled his eyes.

"They're just rumors," he said.

"…Are you sure? How would you know?"

"I _am_ a pretty good detective, if you haven't heard," Shinichi said flatly. He was pretty sure by that point that he had been over their conversation from the moment it had started.

The woman didn't seem to agree. "Don't you think you might be a little too close to this one, Meitantei-san? You may be a great detective, but Kuroba-san is a master magician." She shrugged. "Who knows?"

"Sure, you're right about that," Shinichi allowed. He leaned forward to rest his elbow on the table and his chin in his hand as he watched Kaito laugh. He was leading two men up onto the stage by their hands, one of them blushing. Shinichi couldn't help but smile. The woman pulled his glass a little closer to herself, her lips twitching toward a scowl.

"You don't have to take that from him, Kudou-san," she muttered, the words almost lost under the scattered applause as Kaito transformed the blushing man's shirt into a pair of doves that flew out from under his suit jacket. Now both of his volunteers were blushing and Shinichi unexpectedly found himself deducing that the two men actually had a mild and unexplored interest in each other. His smile broadened to a grin.

"He doesn't own you, you know," the woman insisted, watching him with increasing consternation. "He's not as perfect as he makes us all believe–"

Shinichi snorted. "That's certainly true," he said.

"They why are you with him? Why are you settling for less?"

Shinichi finally glanced toward her again, looking bored. "You don't love somebody because they're perfect," he told her. "Nobody's–"

"But _you're_ perfect, Kudou-san," she said earnestly, clutching his drink in both hands and leaning in toward him.

Shinichi flinched, straightening up quickly to draw back from her. It still hit him every time. Whenever someone would call him perfect, his mind would immediately spiral back to those few, worst mistakes he'd made. His failures. The ones that had gotten people hurt or killed. He shook himself from it, refocusing on the problem at hand. _Dammit, I should have been handling this more carefully._ "Um, look, miss–"

"Yoshino," she provided quickly. Her given name only.

" _Miss_ ," Shinichi persisted, actively avoiding the name. "I'm pretty damn far from perfect–"

"I understand that he makes you feel that way," she said. "Oh! I'm sorry." She looked down at the glass still clutched between her hands and pushed it back over to him. He raised his eyebrows at her. "Anyway," she edged a little closer, reaching for his hand where it was resting on the table. He quickly drew it back, out of her reach, his eyes sharp on her every move. "I would never make you feel that way, Kudou-san," she continued, undeterred. Her chair scooted just a little bit closer again so that she was right beside him, and she rested a hand on his leg instead. "So why not take me inste–"

Shinichi pushed his chair back, almost tripping over it in his hurry to stand. "I'm sorry, miss," he said stiffly. "There's somewhere else I need to be right now. Excuse me." He didn't look back to check that she didn't follow him, he just made for the doors that let out into the hallway of the lavish hotel and used a key card to unlock a nearby meeting room that had been set aside for Kaito as he prepared for the show. He let out a sigh as the automatic lock clicked behind him, and leaned his back against the door.

 _It'll probably be at least another hour and a half before the show ends,_ he thought, looking at his watch. He stood there for a good minute, wondering if he was being ridiculous for hiding. _Kaito will be upset if I miss the show…_ he eventually thought. But the idea of going back out where she was probably waiting was an unpleasant one. He checked his watch again. _…I'll go back for the finale._

.

If it weren't for the screaming that followed immediately after, Shinichi might have mistaken the two distant gunshots as part of the show, or even just his imagination. As it was, he threw himself at the door to the meeting room and out into the hallway. When he charged through the doors into the ballroom everyone was on their feet, and a dozen or so people pushed past him to run from the room in a panic. He ignored them and grabbed for the nearest person who seemed to be somewhat stunned, staring toward the stage. The man let out a small shout at the hand on his shoulder and whipped around, eyes wide and face pale.

"What's going on?" Shinichi demanded. In his quick scan of the room he hadn't seen anyone holding a gun, though he was sure now that that was the sound he'd heard just seconds ago.

The man couldn't seem to find words, but his head turned toward the stage again where everyone seemed to be looking and Shinichi gave up, running past him into the crowd to get to the front of the room.

There was a part of him that knew it before he made it there. Some subtle combination of sensory input pieced together in his subconscious had his stomach clenching with a cold wave of nausea even before he saw Kaito laid out, unmoving on the stage.

"Kai…" For just a moment he stalled, even his voice dying out before he forced himself forward, throwing himself onto the stage. "Kaito!"

There were doves everywhere, but they scattered to let him through, reorganizing themselves into a circle around them both and glaring out at the audience as Shinichi carefully checked Kaito for a pulse. His breath left him in something approaching a sob when he found one.

"Kaito?" he tried again.

There was no response, so he very carefully eased his fingers into Kaito's hair. They met warm blood at the back of his skull and he had to cut off his own breathing to mute another snap of nausea. _It's okay,_ he told himself firmly. _It's gonna be okay._ He couldn't let himself think otherwise.

The blood in Kaito's hair wasn't enough for a bullet wound. _More like a blunt impact,_ Shinichi thought. His eyes flickered to the blood across the stage that did not match up with the head injury and he followed it to Kaito's upper arm where his dark suit glistened, wet around a small tear. He heard something like a growl and realized a moment later that he'd made the sound himself as he reached out to carefully rip the sleeve a little farther and examine the damage. A wave of relief passed over him. It was a bad graze, the bleeding heavy, but it could have been much worse.

As he carefully pulled off the ruined sleeve and tied it around the wound, he heard someone in the crowd say frantically, "See? I knew there'd be a murder eventually if that detective kept coming around!"

He glared back over his shoulder and snapped, "He's not dead. Call an ambulance and the police." When no one moved he shouted, " _Now_!" and saw the heiress fumble a cell phone from her clutch purse. Calming somewhat, he called out, "No one leaves. You're all witnesses." _And one of you is a criminal._ "You'll have to give statements when the police arrive."

"Is… Is he okay?"

Shinichi looked round at the faint, shaky voice. He immediately identified the two young men standing at the edge of the stage as Kaito's volunteers. Both were pale, hanging on to each other for support. Most likely in shock.

"You should sit down," Shinichi said. Then he remembered their question. "He'll be fine. Were you on stage when this happened?"

One of them nodded. The other stammered, "H-He–"

"Got you out of the way, right?" Shinichi finished for him. Waste of time, telling him what he already knew. There was no other way it could have happened. _If he'd had to react that quickly…_ he thought, looking back out over the audience. It was difficult to see details with the lights aimed at the stage and the rest of the room dramatically dimmed. _He didn't see the gun. He only heard the shots go off. Anyone else… Anyone else but Kaitou KID would have died._ He'd never been so grateful for that perfect combination of honed reflexes, skill, and intelligence.

He'd never felt his heart race quite so violently at the thought of pinning a murderer down with the unrelenting fact of their guilt.

Shinichi took in a slow breath and let it out silently.

"Ojou-san," he said, looking to the heiress who had finished her calls but was still clutching her phone as she stared up at the stage. She met his eyes with something like fear in her own. _Does she think she's been found out? Or is she just afraid for Kaito?_ He called her closer with a deliberate tilt of his head and she edged right up to the stage. "Some of your guests ran out after the gunshots. Would you be able to tell me who all was here so we make sure the police can round them up?"

"There's a formal guest list. And Baa-chan will know if anyone didn't sign in."

 _Excellent._ "You'll help the police when they get here. Work with them – provide contact information, descriptions, anything they need, all right?" _And the hotel can make sure staff is accounted for._

She nodded a few times with some determination, hands tense around the phone clutched at her chest. Shinichi looked past her at the blur of shifting silhouettes filling the dim ballroom.

"I want everyone to move to the edges of the room," he called out over the distressed chatter. "Don't take anything with you that you weren't already holding. Leave the scene as undisturbed as possible. And if you're feeling like you might pass out, just sit against the wall. We'll get this cleared up as quickly as possible. Until then, no one leaves."

.

Shinichi turned away when the two paramedics knelt at Kaito's head and feet to pick him up and transfer him to the stretcher. He'd seen too many bodies carted off from murder scenes to be able to watch that and not be sick.

When they'd first arrived and checked Kaito over, they'd told Shinichi that all his vitals were strong and stable, so when they took him away, out to the ambulance, Shinichi didn't follow. Instead, he came down from the stage and dived right in with the forensics team as they canvassed the room.

The gun was found quickly. It was lying on the floor, partially wrapped in a dark piece of tarp. Pictures were taken. The gun was examined by several sets of sharp eyes and gloved hands, and then it was taken away to be checked for fingerprints. Already, everyone at the party was being tested for gunpowder residue.

It would almost certainly do no good.

"Megure-keibu," Shinichi said in an undertone, walking up to him.

"Kudou-kun," Megure answered, and there was an initial flicker of surprise that dulled almost immediately. "You didn't go with the ambulance," he said rather than asked.

Shinichi just shook his head. "Inspector, I think the gun was wrapped when it was fired to keep the powder from spreading – there are creases in the tarp where it was pushed through the trigger guard. It's unlikely the culprit would have left fingerprints either."

"Then we should search everyone for gloves–" Megure started but Shinichi was shaking his head again.

"Just having gloves with them is meaningless if there are other ways to do it. It could have been handled with a handkerchief or napkin as well."

Almost everyone was carrying a handkerchief, and there were cloth napkins all over the tables, chairs, and floor.

"I see," Megure agreed.

It was about that time that one of the forensic officers joined them, her expression cloudy. "There's been some very strategic placement of tulle, photo backdrops, flash reflectors, and sign boards," she said.

"…The security footage is useless," Shinichi sighed.

"The security footage is useless," the officer confirmed.

"All right, we'll take that into consideration when we're questioning everyone," Megure said.

.

As it turned out, all of the obstructions were either incidental, or were shifted subtly during the party. Whoever was doing the shifting kept themselves in the existing blind spots and left no helpfully out-of-place fingerprints behind.

From the combined stories of the guests, they were able to theorize that the shooter had most likely been sitting in the back half of the room, but everyone seemed to agree that people came and went with some frequency – waiters, guests to and from the restroom, people taking phone calls… With everyone's attention mostly on the stage, no one was quite sure where the shots had come from. Even the location of the gun was unhelpful. From the way the wrapping had been scuffed and undone, it was likely the shooter had dropped the weapon and kicked it into the chaos that had immediately followed the attack.

Feeling somewhat at a loss, Megure wandered toward the stage where Shinichi had planted himself in silent thought for the last several minutes.

"It's one of the people sitting in these four seats," Shinichi sighed as Megure approached. He was sitting on the edge of the platform, his chin propped in his hand with his elbow on his leg as he tapped a pen against the sketch of the scene resting on his lap.

"One of four?" Megure repeated, lighting up instantly. "You're sure about that, Kudou-kun?"

"One of three," Shinichi corrected with reluctance. "This seat was apparently empty."

It was Honda Yoshino's seat and, conveniently, _she_ was in clear view of one of the security cameras, standing by the doors at the time the shots had gone off. There had been nothing in her hands.

Shinichi's eyes flickered over to the buzzing swarm of witnesses and easily picked out Yoshino, accidentally meeting her gaze. Because she was staring at him. He shivered a little and looked back to Megure. "And I'm not _completely_ sure," he added. "That's just what makes the most sense considering the angle of the shots and the cautious nature of the culprit."

"It's somewhere to start," Megure said, sounding a bit like he would take what he could get at this point. "Who are they?"

"Murakami Tadashi, Hasegawa Ryo, and Emori Daiju. I'd like to question them myself, if that's okay."

.

An officer sat in with Shinichi while he spoke to each of the three suspects in turn.

"I don't know about you," she said after the last of them had been dismissed from the room. "But I don't think any of them had anything to say that we didn't already know. Back to square one, right?"

Shinichi didn't answer. He was still seated at the table in the conference room they had appropriated for the investigation and his expression had gone somewhat dark after the last suspect had left.

"Kudou… -kun?" the officer tried again.

"He had a motive, but he hid it," Shinichi said.

"What? Who did?"

"Emori-san. But… I don't understand why. He must have known I'd know about it. If he's really the shooter… If he was careful enough to account for cameras, and fingerprints, and gun powder residue, surely he'd realize that hiding a motive that could easily come to light another way would put him under suspicion."

"What's the motive?" she asked.

"A few months ago he… propositioned Kaito. Kaito turned him down. According to Kaito, Emori-san… didn't really take it well. But I never got any details."

"So you think he tried to kill Kuroba-kun tonight?"

"It doesn't really matter what I think," Shinichi said, pushing his chair back and standing. "We need evidence."

.

"Well?" Megure said when Shinichi came back into the ballroom. "Anything?"

Shinichi shook his head and tried not to notice how disappointed Megure looked. "I think we need to go about this a little differently," he said. "There's no evidence because the attack was carefully planned out in advance." His eyes moved almost unconsciously to the stage, still streaked with Kaito's blood. Megure shifted uncomfortably.

"Kudou-kun…"

"But," Shinichi said firmly, cutting him off. "That doesn't mean we can't find it. The mistake _before_ the attack."

"The mistake before…?"

"Yeah." He was smiling a little now, his eyes a little brighter, and Megure started to hope again. "I _know_ … that's where we'll find it. There's no such thing as a perfect crime."

"Well, it sounds good to me, Kudou-kun, but _how_ are we going to find it?"

"First, we need to consider the timing. I don't think it was a coincidence that the shooter waited until I was out of the room."

"That's right; you said you'd left before it happened."

Shinichi nodded. "I was getting some… unwanted attention, so I stepped out." He scanned through the guests again, and again met Yoshino's eyes which were still locked on him from across the room. _Was it intentional?_ he thought, turning slightly to put his back to her. _I don't think she's faking this… obsession. If she is, she hasn't slipped up once. Is it motive? If she drove me out of the room on purpose… It wasn't guaranteed that I'd leave, but then… she also…_ His eyes moved to the table at the back, empty except for his abandoned drink and a standard centerpiece.

"Megure-keibu," he started slowly. "Could you… have forensics test that iced coffee over there?"

"Eh?" Megure glanced over at the table. "What are we looking for?"

"I think it's probably drugged, but I'd rather be sure."

Megure's jaw set, his large eyebrows pushing a little lower from under his hat. His hand gripped Shinichi's shoulder. "Kudou-kun. Are you okay?"

Shinichi didn't hold any doubt about the conclusion Megure had come to. He'd known Shinichi and Kaito long enough to put two and two together – the back table that clearly only one person had occupied. The iced coffee.

"I didn't drink it," he assured him. "But it might be related."

"Got it," Megure said, releasing Shinichi's shoulder, all business again. "We'll check it out."

.

As Megure spoke with the forensics team, Shinichi wandered through the tables, his hand at his chin.

 _The gun had to be either on the shooter the whole time or hidden somewhere in the room or nearby,_ he thought. _The first seems more likely. If they'd had it taped to the bottom of a table, they'd risk discovery if someone dropped something, and there was no tape or adhesive found on the wrapping or any of the tables either._

Shinichi glanced over the partygoers again. _A wrapped gun is bulky. Everyone here is dressed formally. There's no way it would go unnoticed in any of these expensive tailored suits. Long, full skirts could hide it._ His eyes picked across the heiress and her closest friends. He almost physically shook his head, tossing out the idea. _If they'd strapped it to a leg, there'd be some kind of strap to be found and everyone's been searched. Something like that would have left a mark on the leg too, or else resulted in some kind of unexplained padding lying around somewhere. That wouldn't have gone unreported._

His mind moved on. _Bags and purses,_ he thought. _Most of them are small clutches. Only a few would be large enough to hide the weapon. And the most suspicious of those…_ He stopped himself from looking again. He went up to the stage instead and, on a whim, climbed up onto the platform and looked out again over the room. The lights were all on now, and he could see the whole space clearly. He continued to avoid looking toward the guests.

 _Honda Yoshino,_ he thought. _Her bag is overly large for the occasion and it's not full. There was extra space in it… Just enough for the wrapped gun._ He started pacing the width of the stage. _But it's not evidence. Carrying a large, half empty bag isn't a crime and she was standing by the door in clear view of the security cameras when the shots were fired. If they find that my drink_ was _drugged, we could probably get her for that, and it might mean she's an accomplice… which only makes Emori look more suspicious. They came here together._

He let out a soft, frustrated sound. _This attack was a premeditated attempted murder. All this speculation isn't enough. I need to expose the truth._

.

They were preparing to send everyone home when Shinichi finally grabbed onto the makings of a solid lead. The ballistics report had linked the gun to an unsolved crime from a few months earlier.

"Inspector!" Shinichi said, hurrying up to Megure. "There's a chance we can pin the shooter down. Do you think I could consult on the armed robbery at Haido Imperial? It was the same gun."

Megure hummed a little, looking thoughtful. "You'd have to talk to Division Two. It's not my call."

There was an odd twist to Shinichi's lips – like a grimace trying to be a smile. "Nakamori-keibu doesn't usually like me sticking my nose in, but… it's for Kaito. He'd probably make an exception."

"I think we've got all we're going to get here tonight," Megure said. "Why don't you call it a night, Kudou-kun. I'm sure you want to get over to the hospital."

"Yeah… I really do," Shinichi admitted with a somewhat sheepish smile. "Before that, though, was there anything up with the coffee I asked you to check?"

Megure's expression went a little dark. "That and more," he said.

Confused, Shinichi followed but hung back a little as Megure pulled Yoshino aside while the rest of the guests were being ushered out and sent home.

"Miss, I'm afraid you'll need to come to the station."

"What?" Yoshino said. Behind her, Emori paused. "Why?"

"There were traces of a drug found in Kudou-kun's drink in your purse… and on the tarp that was wrapped around the gun."

Yoshino's face seemed to lose a few shades of color. Shinichi's heartbeat picked up even as his eyebrows drew together over a deep frown.

"That sounds like it could take a while to straighten out," Emori said. "I'm going to go on ahead." He hurried off, blending into the rest of the guests again even as Yoshino turned back with an affronted, "Wait, _what_?"

Megure stopped her with a firm hand on her shoulder. "Please come with us, Honda-san."

She cast a long look back at Shinichi as she was lead off. Shinichi didn't notice, his hand at his chin again and his mind far off until his phone rang a moment later. The call was from an unknown number and he stepped to a quiet corner to answer it.

"This is Kudou," he said.

"Shinichi."

Shinichi's breath left him abruptly. "Kaito." Tension he hadn't even noticed sloughed off of him all at once and his shoulders sagged. He leaned against the wall. "You're awake," he said, smiling.

"Brilliant deduction, Tantei-kun," Kaito replied, surely smirking on the other end of the line. "How are things there?"

"…Could be better, but we're not out of leads yet. This one will just take a little more time."

"I'd be insulted with anything less. Anybody who's going after me, with you in the same building, sure as hell better come prepared."

"You could have been killed, Kaito. Maybe hold off on joking about it until we catch the guy."

"Who's joking? Anyway, there was a reason I called. I don't exactly keep my wallet on me when I'm doing a show. Any chance you'd be able to send my insurance card and ID over?"

"I can bring them," Shinichi said. "I was getting ready to head there anyway. I've got to talk to Nakamori-keibu about the next steps for this case, and I don't think he'd be very receptive to helping me at…" He checked his watch. "Geez, four in the morning." He rubbed his free hand over his face and let out a sigh.

"You all right to drive?" Kaito asked.

"Yeah, don't worry. Give me fifteen minutes."

"Okay. Love you."

Shinichi could hear the smirk again. His own lips turned up in response. "Love you, too."

.

Shinichi parked in the hospital lot and grabbed Kaito's bag from the passenger seat, slinging it over his shoulder as he got out of the car.

He didn't even make it to the doors of the hospital.

As he was walking down the aisle of the parking lot, a man in a ski mask and gloves brandishing a kitchen knife darted out from between the cars. Shinichi barely had time to turn toward the man's shout before he was on him, knife-first. The blade pushed into Shinichi's stomach, the man charging forward while Shinichi stumbled back. Then Shinichi collided with the trunk of a car and the jarring halt of their momentum sank the knife deeper.

Shinichi let out a choked off gasp and the man suddenly let go and took a step back, eyes wide in his mask. Shinichi was barely keeping to his feet, one hand planted firmly on the trunk of the car, holding him up. The other was clutching at the knife as blood slowly seeped out around it. His legs felt shaky, but he was already getting control of his breathing again and he opened one eye to regard his attacker.

"…E-Emori-san," he said. And then he realized that this was definitely one of those times that spouting deductions might well get him killed, because while the attacker _had_ been looking shaken and doubtful, he now looked a little crazed. He came at Shinichi again, reaching for the knife, and Shinichi managed to shift his weight more fully onto the car to get a kick in. He was only able to hit the man's legs, but it was enough to make him stumble. Unfortunately, it also put Shinichi off balance enough that his hand slipped on the car's trunk and he fell on his side, hitting the blacktop hard and jostling the knife inside him even as he tried to hold it still.

Clenching his teeth, Shinichi opened his eyes and saw the man coming for him again. He breathed out a curse and let go of the knife to clamp bloody fingers onto his watch, aiming up from the ground. The needle pricked into the man's chest. He stumbled a little then fell forward, narrowly avoiding breaking his nose on the pavement by landing on Shinichi's legs instead. Shinichi kicked out from under him, but he couldn't manage much else.

Then headlights washed over the aisle and Shinichi's heartbeat raged. The car was coming toward them and he had no idea if the driver would see–

The car stopped in the middle of the aisle and the driver's door opened, a middle-aged woman getting out and hurrying forward into the light. Shinichi's consciousness swam with relief.

"Oh… my–"

"Get help," Shinichi gasped out, gesturing vaguely toward the hospital. "Please."

The woman made a weak sound that Shinichi took as an affirmation as she ran past him toward the doors.

.

Kaito was sitting in the frontmost lobby of the hospital waiting for Shinichi when a woman rushed in, stumbling, her face somewhat ashen. A nurse went to her and caught her hands, supporting her.

"In the parking lot!" she said. "Someone's hurt. There's two men and b-blood…"

Kaito found himself on his feet. _Couldn't be…_ he thought. But in almost the same moment his brain insisted, _It probably is,_ and he bolted through the doors, out into the parking lot. One of the aisles had a car sitting in the middle, the headlights on and the engine running with the driver-side door standing open. He rushed toward it and saw two figures laid out on the pavement. One of the silhouettes in the bright light seemed to have a very particular cowlick.

"Shit… _Shinichi_!" He dashed up the aisle and scrambled to his knees at Shinichi's side, a hand gripping his shoulder. "Let me see," he insisted, easing Shinichi onto his back and sucking in a breath through his teeth at the sight of the knife. His eyes snapped toward the man in the ski mask lying asleep on the pavement. "Tch." Very deliberately looking back to Shinichi instead, he reached out and pushed Shinichi's hair back from his face, meeting his eyes when they opened. "We are literally thirty feet from a hospital and you get _mugged_. How the hell can anybody be so simultaneously lucky and unlucky?"

"Nobody… would pick this spot for a mugging," Shinichi coughed out.

 _Well-lit,_ Kaito thought. _Plenty of potential witnesses coming and going at all times of the day or night._

"It had to be Emori," Shinichi continued.

Kaito's eyes were drawn back to the man again. "Emori…?" He found the name in his memory quickly. "… _That_ Emori? From my show a few months ago?"

Shinichi's head moved in a small nod. "Tried to shoot you. Knew I would find evidence. Tried to shut me up."

"Yeah, well, no offense but I'd kind of like you to shut up right now, too."

Shinichi smiled a little. Then his eyes shut and his head lolled to the side, the expression relaxing away.

"Shit…" Kaito muttered. He could already hear the wheels of two stretchers rattling across the blacktop toward them and he reluctantly moved out of the way. He watched a nurse and what looked like a paramedic collapse one of the stretchers beside Shinichi and load him onto it while another set of people did the same with Emori.

"I don't think that guy is hurt," Kaito told them as he picked up his bag that had been dropped nearby during the attack. "He's just knocked out. You should be careful of him. He's the one who did this." His eyes were on the backs of the nurse and paramedic carefully carting Shinichi away and his hand closed into a fist, his jaw clenching tight.

The two minding Emori glanced at each other but nodded and started for the doors with him. Kaito followed a little slowly, but he heard them instruct the nearest staff member to call the police when they got inside. Shinichi was already gone somewhere out of sight and Kaito dropped his uninjured shoulder against the nearest wall, letting his bandaged head tip down with a silent sigh.

.

Shinichi woke to sunlight on white walls. There was an empty bed to his right, and an occupied one to his left – Kaito lying with his hands folded behind his head despite his injuries, staring up at the ceiling. He glanced over when he felt Shinichi's eyes on him and smirked.

"Hey there," he said.

"Hey," Shinichi replied, or tried to. His voice was rough and he swallowed a little, working to re-wet his mouth. He had to abandon the notion of sitting up the moment he'd tried it. He could feel his pulse throbbing under tight bandages around his midsection, and one hand moved to cover that spot while the other found the button to raise the bed instead of his body.

Kaito got up and seated himself on the edge of the mattress, offering Shinichi a cup of water from the table between their beds. "…What the hell happened, Tantei-kun?" he asked quietly after Shinichi had taken a few grateful swallows.

"Some crazed fans," Shinichi answered with a reassuring smile. "Nothing big."

"Hm," Kaito scoffed. "Yours or mine?"

"They've started working together. I think I've got it all figured out now. There's Honda, a woman obsessed with me; and Emori, the guy obsessed with you. Honda tried to drug me so Emori could get away with shooting you."

"If that was the _only_ reason to drug you, I'll eat my hat."

Shinichi recalled the close press of Yoshino's thigh along his as her hand shifted over and he shivered deeply, physically turning away from the memory.

"I _thought_ I was handling it okay," Shinichi muttered. "But…" He sighed and his shoulders slumped against the raised portion of the mattress. "I'm not very good at dealing with that sort of thing. And I just sort of got up and left when she wouldn't stop touching me. Not the best move. I shouldn't have left her alone. What if it had been poison instead of knockout drugs and I didn't do anything? And then you got attacked because I wasn't there–"

"Shinichi, listen to me," Kaito said firmly. "Anything you could have done at that point would have only fueled her obsession, and you couldn't have known something would happen if you left. You did the right thing, removing yourself from the situation. You don't have an obligation to catch every bad guy yourself."

"You're just saying that because you're overprotective," Shinichi sighed, but he was smiling a little again.

"I think I have good reason to be," Kaito replied, brushing Shinichi's bangs gently to the side. Shinichi caught his hand, and his eyes, and Kaito smirked, obligingly leaning in so Shinichi could kiss him without straining.

"I can't help but notice," Shinichi murmured against Kaito's lips a moment later. "That you're still here – I mean, _hospitalized_ here. Not visiting."

Kaito sat back again and shrugged. "Before you turned up a bloody mess in the parking lot, the doctor was all set to send me home. But after _that_ , and the police, and the fact that we're both minor celebrities, some strings were pulled to have me kept overnight for 'observation' for my head injury. Personally, I think the MPD in general is a bit overprotective of the both of us and they wanted us safe and in one spot while they wrapped things up with Emori and Honda."

Shinichi's smile was somehow apologetic. "Yeah, I guess. Still, I'm glad. Glad to know you're okay." Kaito's hand was still in his and he squeezed it a little tighter.

"More okay than you," Kaito muttered with a scowl.

"Hey, could you do me a favor? I'd really like to talk to Megure-keibu. Last I heard, we had evidence that the gun and the drug in my drink were in Honda's possession, but we didn't have any evidence on Emori."

"You mean other than the fact that he was caught literally red-handed with your blood after _stabbing you in a parking lot_?" Kaito said far more pointedly than necessary.

"Yes, other than that."

Kaito sighed.

"He tried to murder you," Shinichi said flatly. "He is _not_ getting away with that."

"One count of attempted murder isn't enough for you?"

"That one wasn't premeditated. Yours was."

Kaito rolled his eyes. "I'll see what I can do."

.

It was a few days later that Shinichi solved the case of the Haido Imperial robbery, and just hours after that that he found hard evidence of the transaction between that criminal and Honda Yoshino when she purchased the gun. Bank withdrawals, various time stamps and security cameras, and some fingerprints had cornered her right into ratting out Emori Daiju as her accomplice – that he'd confessed to her his desire to see the "perfect Kuroba Kaito" broken apart in order to disillusion himself. Seeing her opportunity to "free" Shinichi without dirtying her own hands – tainting herself and making herself unworthy of him – she formed the plan and acquired the gun.

Shinichi, beyond being shaken by the motives, was disappointed. Honda's testimony was good, but it wasn't evidence, and Emori was still denying every claim.

Until Kaito, without Shinichi's knowledge, asked to be allowed to speak with Emori.

.

"Emori-san," Kaito said, taking the seat across the table from Emori in the small, carefully monitored room.

"K-Kuroba…-san…" He swallowed nervously. His eyes couldn't seem to decide where to go, darting to Kaito's face several times but always quickly moving away to the floor or table.

"We heard from Honda-san. About everything."

"She's lying," Emori choked out. Kaito finally caught his eyes directly enough to hold his gaze steady.

"I don't think she is. Because… I think it's understandable… that you would want to free yourself from a painful feeling by removing the cause of it. No rational person would want to be in pain."

Outside of the room, the officers listening in exchanged concerned looks.

"Do you know why I'm attracted to Shinichi, Emori-san?"

Emori flinched. "No," he answered solidly.

"What I find appealing… It's rationality," Kaito explained, his voice level and emotionless. "And the courage to do what must be done. No one else I've met has demonstrated that so completely." He shrugged, his posture suddenly easing, and he leaned back against his seat. "So it's Shinichi."

"B-But…" Emori stammered.

"Yes?"

"Of course there are other people like that! It doesn't _have_ to be him, Kuroba-san. You just said – _I'm_ like that!"

"…I think what I said was that Honda-san's story – that you tried to kill me to disillusion yourself – was believable."

"W-Well…"

" _Courage_ , Emori-san," Kaito repeated.

"I did it!" Emori blurted. "Yoshino had the gun and she told me… She said this would prove it. That you're _not_ perfect, so it wasn't worth being upset over… that you rejected me."

"And?" Kaito prompted. He was still leaning back, but his gaze was impossibly heated, locked on Emori's.

"And so I…" His voice was trembling. "After Kudou was gone, she left her purse on her chair next to me. I took the gun and I…" His eyes were wide and distant, looking at Kaito but not seeing him here and now. Instead, he saw him on the distant stage teasing his volunteers until the moment of the air-shattering gunshot, and the second shot that had followed out of sheer surprise of just how loud a gun could be outside of the controlled environments and protection of his practice sessions.

"I _shot_ at you," Emori said, breathless. "And you… _dodged it_." He laughed then, and his eyes, still wide, went a little wet. "You can't be broken. You're just… _that_ incredible, Kuroba-san."

"…Are you just saying all this because you want me think of you as that… rational man who showed the courage to take matters into his own hands? How can I believe that? Only Shinichi–"

"No!" Emori demanded, and there was a sharp thud as he slammed his hands down on the table and stood, his chair skittering back. Kaito didn't move.

Outside, two officers tensed, ready to burst into the room, but Megure ordered them to wait because of one raised, steady hand from the person beside him, and because this man was about to give them everything.

"I can prove it!" Emori said. "I pretended to go on vacation overseas so no one would find out I was learning to shoot. And then I wanted to practice with the actual gun I was gonna use, so I took it out into the mountains with the silencer Yoshino had and I shot at targets and I can tell you where I got rid of all that – the silencer and the paper targets, and the bullets are still in the trees–"

Kaito widened his own eyes, never looking away. "…You did all that–?" he asked.

Emori's head dipped in a deep nod. "All for you. To prove you're perfect. …It's all buried way off the path about halfway up Nishi-Mikaboyama."

"…Just one more question, then, Emori-san," Kaito said softly, looking up at him. "You know a lot about me… Do you know that I am a _liar_?"

Emori blinked down at him.

"I don't have much of a conscience about it, either," he added as he stood and gently laid his hands on the table, mirroring Emori but standing straighter, his whole body set with imposing confidence. He never looked away from Emori's eyes.

"I love Shinichi," he said, and Emori flinched again like the words were a physical blow. "And it's _not_ because he's rational. He's actually pretty _ir_ rational, because he has this unerring, _determined_ respect for all life except his own. He would do _anything_ to save a life. I've seen it. And I don't understand it, not fully, but I respect and admire it.

"What you've done here – attempting to ease your own suffering by hurting others… There's _nothing_ respectable about that."

Emori looked as though he might shatter at the slightest touch, trembling and supporting himself on the table. Kaito turned from him and went to the door.

"Thanks for the confession," he said. "I'm sure they've already called to have officers mobilized in Gunma to find your… _practice materials_ , too." He turned back just slightly then, just enough for Emori to see his thoughtful expression. "You know, it's not often I get to help Shinichi close a case." _Not as myself, anyway._ He grinned. "Thanks for that, too."

The door was opened for him and Kaito left without another glance.

.

"You are _insane_." Shinichi shoved past an apologetic-looking Megure to grab Kaito by the front of his shirt the moment the door to the interrogation room was closed. "Why didn't you tell me you were doing this?"

"Oops, I'm found out," Kaito laughed, a little nervously. "You been here the whole time?"

"I came to talk to Megure-keibu about looking into the time between Honda's purchase of the gun and the actual attack, but I guess I didn't need to because you were busy manipulating the suspect into a full confession!"

"Okay. Manipulated. A bit. But what he said matches up with Honda's story and we can check his flights, and the firing ranges, and the stuff he said he buried–"

"That's not the point!" Shinichi shot back, and Megure and the two officers shifted uncomfortably, edging back from them a little.

"I…" Kaito stalled. Shinichi's fist, still clenched around his shirt, was a heavy weight against his chest. "I'm sorry," he finally said. "I should have talked to you about it first. I will, next time."

"Tch." Shinichi's grip eased but then his arms were suddenly around Kaito, pressing them together, Shinichi's head tucked close against Kaito's as he clung to him. "…I don't want there to be a 'next time,'" he whispered, and Kaito's face was getting warm because Megure and the two officers were still standing _right there_. He returned the embrace anyway.

"Shinichi," he murmured after a few moments, and Shinichi drew back, looking embarrassed and a little petulant. Kaito touched a finger under Shinichi's chin to still him and pressed their lips together before he could protest.

"K-Kaito–" Shinichi complained, his face completely red and his hands flat against Kaito's chest now, pushing him away a little.

"If you don't want it to happen again, maybe we need to start being a little more obvious that there's no coming between us," Kaito murmured.

For a long moment, Shinichi met Kaito's eyes and the hallway was silent. Then Kaito said, "Wanna make out at my next show~?"

Shinichi shoved him back, hard. "You are an ass." He stalked off down the hall and Kaito glanced back at the officers, his hand at the back of his head. "Sorry about that," he said with a sheepish grin. Then he lowered his voice a little and added, "It's no good when Shinichi starts worrying about stuff he can't help, so…"

Megure just nodded, though his cheeks were a little pink.

"We're going _home_ , Kaito," Shinichi called from down the hall without turning back or pausing.

Kaito shrugged at the officers and tossed out a quick, cheery salute before hurrying off after him.

.

 **Author Note:**

Next installment is called "omg i'm actually gonna post kaishin smut wth was i thinking i know nothing about boys" *coughs* ahem. Sorry. I meant "Red." The next installment is called "Red." Please look forward to it. *slinks off*


	5. Chapter 5

This installment contains explicit sexual content – established relationship, dubious consent (shame on you, Kaito).

.

 _Red_

.

"I'm home," Kaito called out, not bothering to raise his voice to carry through the large house as he stepped into the Kudou manor. It was late, or very early, and he was sure Shinichi would be in bed. He dropped his bag by the front door and pulled out of his shoes, leaving them strewn crookedly in the entrance way. The house was warm, he noted, the winter weather having recently broken. Shinichi probably hadn't gotten around to switching the thermostat over from heat to cool. Kaito doubted he'd been spending much time at home. He never did, it seemed, when Kaito was away.

On a whim, Kaito started shedding clothing as he slowly made his way up the stairs. It honestly was a little _too_ warm, and he doubted Shinichi would mind the trail of suit jacket and shirt and socks and belt he left along the way to his bedroom. Not if he got to wake up with Kaito half naked beside him. Kaito smirked.

Then something caught his attention that made his confident footsteps stall for half a moment. It was a sound, faint and thready, coming from Shinichi's bedroom just ahead of him, and he could see from where he stood that the door was mostly closed. That was unusual. Shinichi didn't typically bother to close the door when he slept unless Kaito was with him, or someone was staying over. Throwing a quick, unnecessary glance at the other doors in the hallway, he confirmed what he already knew to be true. No one was staying over. So then why…?

He moved a little farther down the hall toward the room and realized with a choking jolt of fear that Shinichi was _whimpering._ That was the unidentifiable sound that had arrested his footsteps and made him acknowledge the closed door.

Kaito rushed forward, silent on bare feet, and pushed the door open. It moved soundlessly before him and he stopped short, staring with his hand still flat on the paneling at the sight laid out on the bed.

Shinichi was naked, on his back atop a tangle of sheets, his eyes squeezed shut, and panting around little sounds of discomfort. He was sweating, his whole body tensed in a very specific way and Kaito's eyes locked fairly helplessly on the reason. Shinichi's erection looked hard and flushed and slick and Shinichi's hands were between his legs, trying for relief. Kaito's slacks – the stupid dress pants he was still wearing from his last, late night show before he'd gotten on a plane back to Japan – very suddenly felt too confining. But he absolutely had to put Shinichi first, so, ignoring that, he moved into the room, fast and silent, and crawled onto the bed between Shinichi's legs.

Shinichi's breath hissed between his teeth, his eyes flying open at the sudden _searing_ heat engulfing him, but he didn't have so much as a moment more to process what was happening because then Kaito hummed, and sucked _hard_ , and Shinichi cried out as his body convulsed with the wholly unexpected pleasure and stimulation.

If Kaito hadn't been expecting it, he might have choked with the force of Shinichi's release, but as it was he just eased back a little and continued to suck and swallow with skillful efficiency, running his tongue around Shinichi's shaft before finally pulling back and letting him relax, his thumbs rubbing gentle circles where he was still gripping Shinichi's hips to keep him from bucking. For a long few moments Kaito just sat between Shinichi's spread legs, watching him silently as he lay limp and panting before him. He watched the rise and fall of Shinichi's chest, determined not to look lower. His own erection was a strain already, but he didn't want to rush.

After a little while Shinichi's eyes opened, just slits of watery blue locked on Kaito, and he murmured in a hazily distant voice, "Are you really here?"

"Yeah, of course I am," Kaito laughed, a little breathless.

"I was dreaming…" Shinichi said and Kaito gave him a soft smile.

"I'd wondered what set you off so bad. Just couldn't wait to see me, could you?" he teased.

Shinichi levered himself up on an elbow to regard him sourly. "You were gone a really long time, Kaito. If this had happened sooner I probably would have gotten on a plane and gone to find you." He flopped back on the bed again and Kaito smirked, a hand moving between Shinichi's legs so that his fingertips just barely brushed down Shinichi's length before trailing a light, suggestive path up his inner thigh.

"Too bad," he said. "That would have been fun."

He wasn't sure if Shinichi even heard him. His eyes had fallen closed again and his breathing had sped just a little, his body quivering in time with Kaito's teasing, feather-light touches.

"Seems like you've still got some life in you," Kaito laughed softly. "Wanna help me out?"

Shinichi opened his eyes again to see the sheepish little quirked smile on Kaito's face. Then his eyes trailed down Kaito's bare chest to the obvious erection straining the white slacks. He sat up immediately, already reaching for him.

"Geez, of course Kaito. Come here." Shinichi's hands were quick but careful as he pulled open Kaito's pants, but Kaito was on his knees and it took some maneuvering from them both to get them off.

Kaito let a satisfied little smirk cross his face as Shinichi's eyes settled shamelessly on his erection, a dry swallow working his throat as he reached blindly for the lube he thought he'd left lying on the bed beside him. Kaito laughed a little and got up to lean over him, reaching for the bottle that had rolled up near the headboard.

"It's over here–" he said, but cut off with a gasp, the arm supporting him almost folding when Shinichi unexpectedly swept the hot, flat expanse of his tongue over Kaito's nipple. Kaito dropped back quickly to where he'd been sitting on his heels between Shinichi's legs and folded forward slightly with a quiet whimper, one hand over his chest. He felt Shinichi move to take the lube from his other hand, but his fingers closed tighter around the bottle, not allowing it.

"Better let me do it, Tantei-kun," he said, his voice breathy as he straightened up. "You were already kind enough to do the prep work on yourself, after all."

Shinichi's face darkened with a blush and he turned his head, too embarrassed to meet Kaito's eyes and that wicked grin. Kaito just leaned forward and nuzzled a kiss against Shinichi's cheek, taking an extra moment to enjoy the strong smell of his skin.

"You don't have to be embarrassed, Shinichi," he whispered, keeping close. "I know it's frustrating for you when I'm not around, but… I like that you need me." He felt Shinichi's head turn back toward him and Kaito eased back a little to meet his eyes.

"…This isn't the only reason I need you."

Shinichi's expression was set with fierce confidence now, his gaze intensely serious even while the blue of his eyes was cut thin by the dark, physical lust in them. Kaito had to take an extra moment to get his words in working order.

"I know," he eventually managed. "But it's still… _really_ satisfying that I'm the only one who can do this to you."

Shinichi reached up to trail the backs of his fingers lightly across Kaito's cheek. Kaito leaned in and kissed him.

"…Weren't you in the middle of something?" Shinichi murmured a little distantly against the corner of Kaito's lips. He could taste his own musk on Kaito's breath and it made his heartbeat rush a little with just the memory of Kaito's mouth on him. He'd gone so quickly from seeking relief without hope that it would come to complete and sudden satisfaction, but it wasn't enough. It would never be enough. He could never get _enough_ of _Kaito_.

"Hmm~?" Kaito hummed, his smile pressed to Shinichi's cheek. "Getting impatient, Tantei-kun?"

"Yeah, well, I can _feel_ how much you need it, Kaito," Shinichi replied, smug as he shifted under him.

The slight friction cut straight through Kaito's brain and he was suddenly all too aware again of his own pulse throbbing hot and insistent through his body. He sat back and popped the lube open, pouring it into his hand.

Shinichi propped himself up a little to follow each movement with his eyes as Kaito stroked up and down his own shaft, and his legs unconsciously twitched farther apart, spreading before him. Kaito just smirked. Shinichi's breathing was already quickening again, the anticipation blatant. He really was hopeless.

Kaito let his hand fall away and shifted just a little closer, and Shinichi leaned back again, bracing himself and closing his eyes. Kaito just hummed a little and traced a slick fingertip around Shinichi's entrance.

"H-Hey," Shinichi panted. "Come on, that part's done. Get on with it."

"I thought you were helping _me_ out this time, Shinichi," Kaito said with a warm, low laugh. "Since when did this become about what _you_ want?" He'd already wriggled two fingers in and Shinichi didn't care enough anymore to respond. Kaito drew them out to slowly try for three and was relieved to find the passage easy. More than that though, it was hot and wet, and a quiet groan rose in the back of his throat with the loss of any reservation he might have had left.

"Satisfied?" Shinichi asked, eyes still closed as he felt Kaito's fingers slide out, and the shift on the bed as he moved up closer between Shinichi's legs. "I told you it was fine."

"I know," Kaito murmured, and Shinichi's breath caught because he recognized that tone. That soft, adoring tone that Kaito always took on whenever he was inside him, whispering to him, comforting and loving. He opened his eyes to meet Kaito's. "I'd rather be sure."

Shinichi swallowed and nodded mutely and Kaito smiled at him. Then he returned his eyes to his work and lined himself up, pushing in slow – _maddeningly_ slow – until he couldn't go any farther.

Shinichi let out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding when the movement stopped and Kaito reached out with his dry hand to push Shinichi's sweaty bangs back from his face.

"You still good?" he asked, and Shinichi didn't miss the little bit of distance that had crept into his voice, his mind now half occupied with the feeling of Shinichi tight around him.

"Yeah," Shinichi breathed out, but Kaito was always careful, and he waited for Shinichi to adjust, a lazy kind of smirk coming over him before he carefully leaned down and closed his mouth over one of Shinichi's nipples, slick fingers moving to tease the other. Shinichi jolted a little and the movement brought on a deluge of other sensations where their bodies were joined. He let out a completely involuntary whine.

Kaito knew well which sounds meant pain and which meant pleasure for Shinichi. He grinned, letting his teeth scrape lightly on Shinichi's chest, and left a few wet kisses across his skin before he set his whole focus on the movement of their hips, letting out a quivering moan at the long-anticipated sensation.

He didn't last long. He'd already known he wouldn't. It had been weeks after all, and he could swear every thrill along his electrified nerves was five million times better than he remembered. With Shinichi clinging to him, moaning his name and matching each thrust, the pressure building hot and fast, there was no way at all that he could hold out, and he didn't want to. He let himself go, dropping into that unrestrained _pleasure_ that he could only have with Shinichi, because Shinichi was _trust_ , and _safety_ , and _home_.

When Kaito came back to himself through something of a happy, heady daze, he was lying beside Shinichi who seemed to have pulled him to his side and was running his fingers through Kaito's hair.

"Mm," Kaito murmured. He inched up and stole a quick kiss before settling back into the pillows again, still tucked against Shinichi's side.

"Hey," Shinichi whispered. "Welcome home."

Kaito laughed lazily against his shoulder. "We did not even make it five minutes between me walking in the door and me going down on you," he said, smiling. "That is–" He yawned and snuggled closer. "That is just pathetic."

"You've never been gone that long before," Shinichi reasoned. "So it's your fault."

"You've never had hormone-crazed sex dreams about me before," Kaito countered. "So it's yours."

"I wouldn't say _never_ …" Shinichi confessed, and Kaito blushed, blinking over at him and wondering why the hell he should feel embarrassed when Shinichi was the one dreaming up erections he could barely satiate on his own. But really he was kind of pleased.

"Oh?" he said, grin wide on his face. "Anything interesting? Anything… I should know about? Secret fantasies? Do I need to go put on the suit? Cause I will. I'll do that for you. I _knew_ you had a secret thief fetish; it's okay to admit these things." He was laughing through every word and Shinichi attempted to shove him away but Kaito clung to him, determined.

"Yes, they've been very _interesting._ No, it's nothing you need to know about. And you know the only fetish I've got is for _you_ ," he reminded him calmly.

"Yeah," Kaito said, sounding entirely too proud about it. "But especially me in the suit. And you know it."

Shinichi rolled his eyes. "You must be exhausted," he said, going back to stroking Kaito's hair. "How was your flight?"

"Murder-free," Kaito replied, smirking though his eyes had fallen closed again.

"Ha ha," Shinichi said dryly. "…Next time I'm going with you."

Kaito was quiet for long enough that Shinichi thought he'd fallen asleep, so he settled himself a little deeper into the pillows and closed his eyes as well. But then a sleepy, murmured reply came against his shoulder. "If you do, we should probably get a private plane. And fly it ourselves. Actually, yeah. Good plan. Let's buy a plane."

"Shut up," Shinichi said through a derisive little half-laugh.

"I love you~"

"Good night."

"It's actually morning."

Shinichi let out a quiet, aggravated groan and pulled Kaito closer. "I love you. Shut up."

"Good night," Kaito laughed.

Kaito's hand was resting on Shinichi's chest and Shinichi laid his own hand over it, keeping it there above his heart and smiling despite himself. The sun rose, ignored, somewhere beyond the bedroom curtains and they both drifted quietly off to sleep.

.

 **Author Note:**

They are so gonna regret not cleaning up in the morn– …er …whenever they wake up lol

Anyway, that's all for this series! The next thing I plan on posting will be part of the Fall into Flying universe and canon to those stories, but also predating those stories so it's not at all necessary to have read them. I feel like being coy for some reason, so I'm not gonna say anything more about it, but please look forward to it~! ^.^ lol


End file.
